The $848,650 investment is providing the solar developer a 10-year payback. On sunny days this time of year, the panels are producing from $400 to $600 worth of electricity a day, according to Torresen Chief Operating Officer Larry Larsen.

On one sunny day, the Torresen solar panels will produce enough electricity to power a typical house for a month, project officials said. The power being produced is sold to the electrical grid.

The Torresen solar project received a favorable incentive rate of 45 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity from Consumers Energy. The public utility is paying above the typical residential electrical charge of 10 cents per kilowatt hour to encourage alternative energy production in the state.

Michigan law mandates that utilities get 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015. The Michigan Public Service Commission approved a $2.50-per-month alternative energy surcharge for customers' electric bills to pay for the move toward alternative energy, utility officials have said.

Development of the solar panels on Torresen's boat storage facility at 3003 Lakeshore on the south shore of Muskegon Lake had some stumbling blocks.

The first was financial, getting a bank to understand the technology and economics of solar installations. The second issue was the modifications to the building so the solar panels met state construction codes for roof loads.

Financial institutions were concerned about the 40-year life expectancy of the solar panels, 20-year life expectancy for the electrical conversion equipment and the 12-year Consumers Energy solar rate. Torresen said that by the end of the special solar rate, the solar equipment will be paid for, and the remaining revenues will go to the investors and building owner.

“This all depends upon the incentives and a bank's comfort to provide a loan,” Torresen said. “I think that two years from now, the banks will be making these kinds of loans. Solar will have some history in Michigan.”

This is the first use of the German panels in a snowy climate like that of West Michigan. Larsen said the snow did affect electrical production over the winter but a sunny fall and now above-average sun this spring have the system at 5 percent above its expected production.

“What we have learned from all of this is that it's key to have a good partnership with the supplier, manufacturer and building owner,” said Chart House Energy's Rob Rafson. “I also learned that it snows a lot in Michigan. The winter was brutal.”

The U.S. Energy Department's calculations on sunshine for this region of Michigan have been good, Rafson said. Like Germany, Michigan and its cloudy climate still have potential for solar power, he said.